Treaty No. 6 Recognition Day Art Contest

Each year, the City of Edmonton, together with the Confederacy of Treaty No. 6 First Nations, hosts Treaty No. 6 Recognition Day at City Hall. This year’s event will be held on Friday August 17, 2018.

The event includes an exchange of gifts between the outgoing Grand Chief, current Grand Chief and the Mayor as a symbol of their commitment to collaboration, respectful dialogue and exploring shared opportunities.

Call for Submissions

The Confederacy of Treaty No. 6 First Nations and the City of Edmonton are launching a call for submissions for a fine/decorative art. The goal of this art contest is to encourage all people of all skills and abilities to express their ideas of reconciliation through fine and decorative art.

Anyone living within Treaty No. 6 territory (in and around Edmonton) is considered a member of Treaty No. 6, and is encouraged to participate in this art contest.

The Confederacy and the City would like this year’s gift exchange to focus on art pieces reflecting the theme “...as long as the sun shines, waters flow, and the grass grows...” This theme represents the terms of Treaty No. 6.

If your piece is chosen as the gift, you will receive $500 for the purchase of your artwork. You also get the pleasure of knowing your piece will proudly be placed in the office of the Confederacy or at City Hall to symbolize a new dawn in Nation-to-Nation relationship-building.

Contest Guidelines

Fine and decorative art can include but is not limited to drawings, paintings, photography, small sculpture, print-makings, folk art, and/or traditional handicrafts, or any combination there of. It does not include elements of visual art such as performance art or art installations.

Due to the nature of this art contest, and out of respect for traditional and cultural symbolism, it is suggested that the use of sacred ceremonial items in representation or in physical form be avoided.

Yes. However, as the original piece must be presented to the Confederacy or City for the gift exchange, it must be readily available for presentation and ownership rights of the piece itself must be granted to the Confederacy/City in preparation for Treaty No. 6 Recognition Day event.

An irrevocable, perpetual license of use of the image of the artwork in promotional materials must also be granted to the Confederacy of Treaty No. 6 First Nations and the City of Edmonton.

Indigenous and non-Indigenous citizens who reside in the Treaty No. 6 Territory of Alberta (within and outside Edmonton city limits) are eligible to submit artworks; if you live within the treaty area, you are a member of Treaty No. 6.

There is no age limit for participants. However, if the artist is not of legal age, the parent or guardian also must sign at the bottom of the submission form.

Categories

The art contest will include categories to showcase the art of children and adults. A winner from each category will be chosen.

Create a new piece of artwork or identify a piece from your existing collection that fits the theme of “As long as the sun shines, grass grows and rivers flow.”

Take up to ​4 photos of the piece from different angles. Make sure details of the piece are clearly visible in the photos. Do not send the artwork at this time. ​We cannot be responsible for artworks delivered/transported in advance of juried evaluation.

Fill out the Contest Submission Form​, ​including a 250-­word ‘essay’ or interpretation of how the piece represents the theme “as long as the sun shines, grass grows and rivers flow” at a local level (such as, how does it specifically reflect reconciliation in Edmonton and surrounding region?). Be sure to save the submission form to your desktop or personal computing device after downloading it.

Send your photos and submission form by email to lmills@treatysix.org by 11pm on Friday August 3, 2018.

All submissions will be reviewed by a panel of elders at the Confederacy Offices on Friday August 10, 2018.

Names of the artists will not be included in the review of the artworks.

The Elders will rank each submission (by reviewing the photos and essay) based on 3 factors:

Expression of theme ("As long as the sun shines, grass grows and rivers flow")

Creativity (What makes this piece interesting? How does it help express ideas?)

Visual impact (How will this piece stand out? Does it grab people’s attention?)

2 pieces of artwork will be chosen (one that will serve as a gift from the Mayor to the Grand Chief; one that will serve as a gift from the Grand Chief to the Mayor).

The artists will be notified on Monday August 13, 2018. Arrangements for art delivery will be made, as well as prize award at that time.

Artworks will be presented by the Mayor, outgoing Grand Chief and current Grand Chief to each other during the Treaty No. 6 Recognition Day event on Friday August 17, 2018. If possible, the organizations would like to have the artists themselves attend Treaty No. 6 Recognition Day and be a part of the gift exchange.